POLICIES

Ethos

Overview: The object in setting out this document is to provide some guidelines and, hopefully, something of an insight for those who are unfamiliar with the philosophical view point adopted by the school in its approach to delivering education in the specific area of screen acting. It is also hoped that this will enable students, staff and management to communicate and continue to develop the school’s autonomous position in the British Drama School training environment. This should lead to the provision of a secure, progressive and sustainable future both for the school and its reputation.

Primary Objectives: 1) The school’s primary objective is to teach students the particular art of screen acting.

2) The school recognizes that screen acting is an art form in its own right and thereby has its own needs and strictures.

3) The school believes that it is necessary to develop new subject areas, teaching methods and practices to further the exploration of the medium of screen acting.

4) The school also believes in cultivating a cross-medium interest to expand, develop and support both students and staff.

5) The school recognizes the value and contribution of international students and eschews monoculture practices.

The Holistic Approach: This approach is rooted in two main aspects, firstly, the nurturing of the creative centre of the individual, and secondly, the need of the individual to take responsibility for their own actions. Creativeness is explored in an intuitive manner through workshops and classes. This very ‘Hands On’ approach develops confidence in the creative process and the opportunity to explore new ground. In addition, the idea of taking what might be termed a tool box approach to the creative processes (example; the teaching of different methods such as Strasberg, Meisner, Chubbuck, Adler, and Chekov et al). This ensures the student has an intellectual as well as a physical support for the decisions needed in the creative process.

Many core activities such as voice, diction, script analysis, character creation, basic acting methods and acting technique for camera are the bedrock of the approach and without these the opportunity to develop a deeper understanding within the medium would be diminished.

Real World P.O.V: It is also the school’s ethos to maintain a real world approach to the training. This incorporates, for example, workshops by professional practitioners such as actors, casting directors, film and TV directors, producers, agents and so on. The real world environment is pushed further with its multi-cam workshops and single camera location work. The school sees it as an important factor to ensure that the student connects with the stringent demands of the industry and is as important to understand as acting itself. Another aspect of real world approach is the creation of projects from the ground up. Though the school delivers a formidable actor training to its students the reality is that far too many leave the industry through lack of work or will soon after graduation. The school sees it as a responsibility to give the student more than just the ability to speak lines in front of a camera. For survival purposes the school sees it as important that students learn to appreciate other specialist areas and producing their own ‘in house’ projects helps them in this direction.

Alternative Approaches & Developments: Screen acting as a form of training is comparatively new to not only the UK but many countries in Western Europe. This has meant that new training skills have had to be developed and old ones re-assessed.

One of the most important of the skill sets that the student is required to learn is screen writing. The program covers a full day over 2 modules (16 days in total) and material for the end of year presentation of short scenes is developed through it. As with nearly all our program an emphasis on action, or the doing of, is as much a part of the screen writing aspect of the course as with any other subject. Here the students are asked to act the written work back to their peer group in a class room situation. This works in a multi-level way allowing for a fundamental grasp of script structure through the use of both the visual and verbal narrative, thus allowing faster access to comprehending the needs of a script, and also develops reading and audition skills at the same time. It is not the intention of the school, however, to turn screen acting students into script writers but only as far as is deemed necessary to create the required material and enhance understanding.

The school also promotes the exploration of associated subjects such as directing, editing and general project management, but again, not to the detriment of actor training but only as a way of gaining a greater understanding of the industry.

Screen combat is another subject area that the school has been developing under the auspices of The British Academy of Stage and Screen Combat (BASSC) and includes skills with small hand weapons such as guns and knives and street fighting techniques. Other school activities include horse riding and archery. The purpose behind these latter activities is three fold. There is a continued need to pursue group activities at a period when individual filming for the final presentation at BAFTA unavoidably fragments the student body. The need to develop a wider skill set, and finally, to maintain an intuitive use of the student’s physical and mental faculties.

There are some new areas that the school has developed such as the ‘Improvised Short Film’ and ‘Cinematic Poetics’ along with ‘Instant Acting’ and ‘Psycho-Physical Acting’. ADR (Audio Dialogue Recording) is also a newly developed class recently introduced. All these subjects, as with all our other subjects, are constantly reviewed, updated or redeveloped as the need is required. It is also the school’s ethos to remain open and supportive to new subjects and actively encourage those members of staff who wish to develop their classes further.

The School’s Main Aims, Objectives and Responsibilities

The aim of this policy statement is to ensure that all reasonably practical steps are taken to ensure the health, safety and welfare of all persons using the premises. To achieve this we will actively work towards the following objectives:

a) To establish and maintain safe and healthy environment throughout the school.

b) To establish and maintain safe working procedures amongst staff and students.

c) To make arrangements for ensuring safety and the absence of risks to health in connection with the use, handling, storage and transport of articles of equipment and substances.

d) To ensure the provision of sufficient information, instruction and supervision to enable all people working in or using the school to avoid hazards and contribute positively to their own safety and health at work and to ensure that they have access to health and safety training as and when provided.

e) To maintain a safe and healthy place of work and safe access and egress from it.

f) To formulate effective procedures for use in case of fire and other emergencies and for evacuating the school premises.

g) To follow the regulations of Health & Safety at Work Act 1974 and any other relevant legislation.

Student Charter The International School Of Screen Acting has drawn up its own Student Charter to summarize the standards that you can expect as a student taking the screen-acting course with us and to set out your responsibilities. Although the school’s Student Charter provides a set of benchmarks, it is not a contractual document between students and the school.

The Schools commitment to standards: The International School Of Screen Acting’s commitment to quality in teaching, assessment and student support is currently being established. The school offers a comprehensive curriculum, designed to meet students’ vocational needs. The school believes in equal opportunities for all. It is open to every section of the community regardless of background or circumstance, and it makes every effort to create conditions in which all students can participate fully and equally in school activities.

What you can expect from the school:

To give you clear and accurate information about the course you are training on.

To offer you individual guidance about your development and progress on the course by way of monthly surgeries.

To give you clear instructions about how to pay fees.

To offer you clear and up to date information about financial assistance including career development loans.

To provide you with teaching materials where necessary.

To offer you guidance and assistance in developing accompanying skills in the TV & film industry.

To provide tutors who will offer you training support and give you constructive written reports at the end of each module.

To assess your work fairly and objectively with internal monitoring for each module including your year-end film project.

To provide clear and accurate information about regulations and disciplinary procedures.

To give you, if you notify the school of a disability or health difficulty, information and assistance to aid you in your training with the school.

To publish and put into practice the schools policy on equal opportunities and its code of practice on harassment.

To operate a safety policy that ensures, as far as is practical, the health and safety of staff and students while undertaking school activities.

To supply, upon authorization, a confidential reference or information about your training with the school.

To give you opportunities (such as questionnaires, representation, and a formal complaint procedure) to register your views about your course, tuition and support services.

The School intends to establish an international reputation for the quality of its teaching. It regards the maintenance of quality as of the highest importance and therefore will strive for continuous improvement in its performance. It will listen to the views of its students, and in particular values their opinions about courses and tuition.

What the school expects from you: The International School Of Screen Acting is an educational unit that functions on the basis of mutual respect and responsibilities. The Uk Government’s Charter for Higher Education makes clear that students themselves have certain responsibilities.

The school will do its best to maintain the standards and provide the services specified in this charter, but can only do it if you help by:

Observing the schools regulations, policies and procedures.

Informing the school of your current contact details.

Responding to communications sent to you by the school.

Meeting deadlines, including paying fees according to the published schedules.

Studying any learning materials and making use of the tutoring, counselling and support provided.

Respecting any guidelines given to you by either a tutor or the school.

Informing the school if you have a disability or health difficulty that might affect your training so that the school can make every attempt to provide you with appropriate facilities.

Upholding the schools policy on equal opportunities and its code of practice on harassment.

Acting, in school activities, with reasonable care for your own safety and that of others.

Seeking early help and guidance from your tutor or principal if things seem to be going wrong.

What to do if these standards are not met: If you think that any of these standards has not been met, in the first instance you should communicate with your tutor. Usually things can be put right immediately, but if you are dissatisfied with the response you receive you might want to register a formal complaint.

Feedback: The school is always pleased to receive feedback from students and will take steps to solicit specific feedback from time to time.

Complaints: Just as your comments, favourable or otherwise, are valued by the school, complaints are also seen as an important source of information that helps to maintain standards and make improvements. The school has a formal complaint procedure (outlined below) and makes every effort to deal with complaints thoroughly, fairly and as quickly as possible.

CODE OF CONDUCT

Personal Relationships between staff and students:

Introduction: The International School Of Screen Acting values and aims to maintain good professional relationships between staff and students. These depend on mutual trust and confidence, and on the boundaries of the professional role being recognized and maintained. Professional relationships between staff and students can give rise to serious questions of conflict of interest; bias; of breaches of confidentiality; of unfairness in teaching, counselling and assessment and of challenges of unprofessional conduct. Close personal relationships can undermine the integrity of these processes. They can also seriously disrupt learning for other students. Such relationships include family relationships; financial and business relationships; employee and employer relationships outside the International School Of Screen Acting context; and sexual or personal relationships.

Policy & Procedures:

Staff should recognize their professional responsibility to protect the interest of students, to respect the trust involved in the staff - student relationship, and to accept the constraints and obligations inherent in their role.

Any member of staff who has close personal relationships with a student whose work he or she is responsible for assessing, teaching or counselling responsibility should declare this to an appropriate principal, who will decide on any changes or actions that are required. Such a declaration will be treated in strict confidence. If any student declares such a relationship, the same procedure will be followed.

The rights and responsibilities of students and staff under the code on dealing with harassment remain unaffected.

This policy applies to all staff employed by The International School Of Screen Acting and to all International School Of Screen Acting student

School Discipline

General School Regulations It is the duty of the school to maintain good order and discipline among its members. The school has the power to prescribe such regulations as may from time to time be thought expedient for effectively carrying out that duty. The regulations set out below are the schools General Regulations for discipline. School disciplinary regulations are given in full in the Policies & Procedures document available from the school office.

The General Regulations provide that:

No member of the school shall intentionally or recklessly disrupt or impede or attempt to disrupt or impede the activities and functions of the school, or any part thereof.

No member of the school shall intentionally or recklessly impede freedom of speech or lawful assembly within the Precincts of the school No member of the school shall intentionally or recklessly fail to give any notice which is required to be given to a school officer or a school authority under the terms of a code of practice issued under the provisions of section 43 of the Education (No 2) Act 1986.

No member of the University shall intentionally occupy or use any property of the school except as may be expressly or by implication authorized by the school authorities concerned.

No member of the school shall intentionally or recklessly damage or deface or knowingly misappropriate any property of the school.

No member of the school shall intentionally or recklessly endanger the safety, health, or property of any member, officer, or employee of the school within the Precincts of the school.

No member of the school shall forge or falsify or knowingly make improper use of any certificate or other document attesting to their achievement nor knowingly make false statements concerning standing or concerning results in course completion.

All members of the school shall comply with any instruction given by a school officer, or by any other person authorized to act on behalf of the school in the proper discharge of his or her duties.

Disciplinary Procedure Any complaint by the staff, or by any other member or employee of the school, that a member of the school has committed an offence against the disciplinary regulations is considered by the school joint principals, who decide whether the complaint should be upheld. If the complaint is upheld then the complaint procedure, as laid out in the Policies and Procedures document will be enacted. Appeals are accepted as laid out in the Appeals section of this document.

Dismissal The school reserves the right to dismiss any member of the school found in breach of its regulations and policies. Dismissal procedures follow the form of the complaints procedure unless under extreme circumstances (as defined by the school directors) where a school member is in serious breach and can be dismissed immediately. This will take the form of a letter of dismissal that will require the school member to leave the premises forthwith.

Equal Opportunities

The International School Of Screen Acting recognizes and welcomes all legislation and existing codes of practice produced by the appropriate commissions for the promotion of equal opportunities for all.

The school aims to ensure that individuals are recruited, selected, trained and promoted on the basis of occupational skill requirements. In this respect, the school will ensure that no job applicant or employee or user will receive less favourable treatment on the grounds of age, gender, marital status, race, religion, colour, cultural or national origin or sexuality, which cannot be justified as being necessary for the safe and effective performance of the work or training for the work.

This policy is brought to the attention of every employee and applicant and user.

Race & Culture

The International School of Screen Acting believes that it is the right of every employee and student to be treated as an equal and with respect and that no religion or culture is inherently superior to any other.

1) The school will not tolerate racism in any form.

2) The school is committed to actively promoting equal opportunities at all times and to challenge those who do not do so.

3) To challenge any form of racial abuse and report any incidents of this nature to the appropriate staff.

4) All employees will be continually reviewing working practice and relationships in order to provide the best service to all student and staff users.

Complaints Procedure

The International School Of Screen Acting is committed to providing high quality services and is anxious to resolve any shortcomings in the standard of services it provides. The school also regards complaints as an important source of information for improving its services for the future.

Definition of a complaint: The school defines a complaint as an expression of dissatisfaction concerning the provision of the programme of study or related administrative service, when the complainant has drawn their concern to the attention of the school and is not satisfied with the response. This definition excludes complaints covered by the following separate school procedures:

Code of practice on student discipline

Dealing with harassment: Code of practice for students

Staff disciplinary code

Code on personal relationships between staff and students

Appeals on decisions concerning student progress and assessment.

If you want advice before making a complaint or before taking a complaint to the next stage the Complaints Officer will be happy to help you. No formal complaint will be registered unless you explicitly request it.

Before you make a complaint: If you experience problems with any aspect of the Schools training or administrative services you should draw them to the attention of the appropriate area of the school as soon as possible so that we can take the appropriate remedial action without delay. It is essential that you act immediately if there is a possibility that your training will be adversely affected by any problem you have encountered. If you have problems with scheduling or other aspects of training arrangements you should tell us immediately as we might be able to offer a solution. The same thing applies to financial problems.

The school cannot accept responsibility for problems that adversely affect the quality or outcome of your training if you delay drawing our attention to them until it is too late for us to put things right.

If you have drawn problems to our attention and you are not satisfied with our response, you are entitled to make a formal complaint.

Making a formal complaint:

Stage One Ensure your complaint is accurately recorded with time and date. We encourage you to put it in writing, seal it in an envelope and deliver it to the office marked for the attention of the Complaints Officer. We will send a reply within 10 working days. If we can’t give you a full reply within that time we will indicate when we are likely to be able to do so. To safeguard confidentiality our reply will be sent to you by post.

Stage Two If, when you receive our reply to your complaint, you are not satisfied that everything possible has been done to answer it, you can ask for your case to be reviewed by one of the principals of the school. You should include:

Full details of the substance of your complaint and all matters related to it.

Details of other areas of the school you have had contact in relation to your complaint.

Copies of any previous correspondence with the school related to your complaint, or sufficient information to help us trace such correspondence quickly.

You are also invited to suggest what action you think the school should take to resolve your complaint

Stage Three

If when you have had a full reply from one of the principals, you are still not satisfied that everything possible has been done to answer your complaint, you can ask the complaints officer to refer it to the joint principals. You will receive an acknowledgement within three working days. The joint principals will investigate whether the matter has been handled fairly in accordance with the school’s policy and procedures, and whether anything more should be done. The joint principals will send a reply to your complaint within ten working days of the date that the complaint being drawn to their attention. If this is not possible then you will be contacted again to let you know when you can expect a full reply.

The reply from the joint principals will explain the basis of their decision. The joint principals decision will be final.

Rights and responsibilities:

The School will

Deal promptly with all complaints within the time limits set out in these notes.

Make sure that all points raised by you are properly dealt with, and that relies explain the outcomes as clearly as possible.

Handle your complaint with due regard to confidentiality and disclose only the information that is necessary to conduct a proper investigation and make a full response.

Keep records of complaints separate from other records.

Ensure that no complaint made in good faith will be used to you disadvantage in the future

Always be courteous

If you are making a complaint you should:

Make a full disclosure of all matters relevant to your complaint.

Deal sensitively with issues that involve other students or staff, and not name them unless it is necessary.

Always be courteous.

Dealing With Harassment

A working definition of harassment: It is the joint responsibility of all members of the International School Of Screen Acting, students and staff to ensure that no one has to suffer from any form of harassment and that any one who reports harassment is taken seriously. Harassment may be a disciplinary offence. The International School Of Screen Acting is committed to a working and learning environment that is free of intimidation. Harassment includes, broadly, any behaviour that is offensive, intimidating or hostile.

Sexual Harassment: Sexual harassment is a form of sex discrimination. It occurs in a variety of situations that share a common element: the inappropriate introduction of sexual activities or comments into the work or learning situation. Often, sexual harassment involves relationships of unequal power and contains elements of coercion. However, it may also involve relationships among equals.

Racial Harassment: Racial harassment may be defined as a hostile or offensive act or expression by a person or group of one racial or ethnic origin against a person or group of another, or incitement to commit such an act, on racial grounds. Racial harassment occurs when any such behaviour creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive environment for employment, study/training or for social life. Differences of attitude or culture and the misinterpretation of social signals can mean that what is perceived as racial harassment by one person may not seem so to another. The defining features, however, are that the behaviour is offensive or intimidating to the recipient and would be regarded as racial harassment by any reasonable person.

Responsibility: Any student who suffers harassment will have the support of the school management in putting a stop to it. Anyone who experiences or witnesses an incident of harassment should not wait until the situation reaches an intolerable level - action taken at once can be quickly effective.

What to do as a victim of harassment: There are various ways in which an individual can deal with harassment, ranging from simply asking the person to stop, to taking up a formal complaint.

Step One: Act promptly; don’t wait until the situation reaches an intolerable level or your personal well-being is put in jeopardy. in some cases, the person against whom you have a complaint may be unaware that his/her behaviour is inappropriate or objectionable, or it may happen that his/her words or actions have been misinterpreted. In such cases the misunderstanding needs to be cleared up speedily. Even where the behaviour was intentional, a swift and clear indication that the behaviour is objectionable may well prove sufficient.

Although an objection is often most effective when delivered face to face, there may be good reasons why you choose not to speak directly to the person against whom you have a complaint. If this is the case, you have the following options:

a) Asking a fellow student or a member of staff to go with you to speak to the person, or to go in your place.

b) You might write to the person against whom you have a complaint, being specific about who offends you. You should keep a copy of the letter in case further action is necessary.

c) Taking the matter up with a member of staff in whom you have confidence.

You should write down details of any subsequent incident.

Step Two: If the behaviour persists, or further action is seen as necessary, get in touch with one of the joint principals who will listen to you in confidence, advise you how to proceed and explain how the complaint can be taken up more formally.

Step Three: Serious or persistent cases of harassment will need to be considered as a potential disciplinary matter, and must therefore be raised with all three joint principals. If a formal complaint is made, the joint principals will prepare a written report on the basis of interviews conducted with the complainant and the harasser, in accordance with approved disciplinary procedures.

What the School will do in response to a complaint: Any member of staff who is approached informally by a complaint is expected to:

Act speedily.

Respond sensitively to the complaint.

Provide advice, including information about the procedure if a formal complaint becomes necessary.

Take up the matter informally with the person against whom the complaint has been made, or inform one of the joint principals if requested to do so. In this event, the complainant should be asked for permission to give his/her name and a copy of the complaint, if in writing, to the person against whom the complaint has been made. Anonymous complaints can be pursued only in general terms and are less likely to bring about the desired change in behaviour. The person against whom the complaint has been made will be advised of the nature of the complaint, and be given the opportunity to respond. Any written responses will be made available to the complainant. Both the complainant and the person against whom the complaint has been made should also be advised of the procedure to be followed if a formal complaint were to be made.

Formal complaints: The joint principals when receiving a formal complaint should arrange for the complainant to be interviewed as soon as possible after the complaint has been received - usually within 24 hours. In the case of sexual harassment a member of senior staff of the same sex as the complainant will if possible, conduct the interview in order to minimize any feelings of embarrassment. A fellow student or member of staff in whom they have confidence may accompany complainants.

If the interviewers report indicates that the matter should be pursued, the joint principals may exercise powers as a school in accordance with the codes of practice for student and tutor discipline.

Records: Where the joint principals are involved in taking informal action under the Code records will be held as follows:

Where a complaint is found to have no substance no record will be kept unless requested by the individual against whom the complaint was made.

A record, which may include any correspondence, will be kept for a period of no more than 6 months if the complaint against an individual is proved. At the end of the 6 months, providing no further accusation of harassment has been made and found to have substance, the record and any correspondence, will be removed from the current filing system and may not be referred to again.

At the end of a 12-month period, providing no further accusation of harassment has been made, the record, including any correspondence, will be destroyed.

Where formal action is enacted a record will be held in accordance with the appropriate disciplinary procedures.

Subsequent action: The disciplinary code allows the joint principals to exclude a student from the school for good cause, and serious cases of harassment would be such a cause. In other cases, warnings about future conduct would be appropriate. If a formal complaint is lodged and written records are made, the school will need to take these matters into account in considering whether to recommend excluding the student from the school, or whether and at what stage disciplinary action proceedings should be initiated against a member of staff.

A record of formal action will be held in accordance with the appropriate disciplinary procedures.

Please Note: Nothing in this Code will prevent members of staff or students exercising their legal rights.

Procedures for the submission of Appeals against decisions of Assessment

Introduction 1 These Procedures are intended to protect students in course assessments, including against the possibility of unfair assessment resulting from omission or error on the part of the appropriate tutor or management, or from unforeseen circumstances affecting a student. No student appealing under these Procedures, whether successfully or otherwise, shall be treated less favourably than would have been the case had an appeal not been made.

2 If a student wishes to present a complaint about the school, its courses or services or the individuals concerned in their delivery, the Student Complaints Procedure should be used. In cases where delay has occurred as a result of confusion over which is the correct procedure to follow, the date of the first enquiry shall be considered to be the date on which the appeal was lodged.

3 Students who wish to appeal against Misconduct decisions should refer to the appeals section of those procedures.

4 ‘Appeals’ below means ‘appeals against decisions of Assessment.

5 The Head of the Administration Department has overall responsibility for the Procedures for Appeals against decisions of Assessment.

Validity and Invalidity 6 An appeal in respect of an academic judgment arrived at through due process shall be deemed invalid.

7 For an appeal to be valid it must: Be made in writing on the appropriate Appeal Form. State the title of the module, the component(s) affected and the assessment period and academic year in respect of which the appeal is being made; Include all appropriate, supporting independent evidence; Be dated and bear the full name, student number and signature of the student; Be received within ten working days of the date of publication of the result(s) of the assessment(s) concerned; Be submitted in person at the School Office, or if submitted by post, must be addressed directly to David Craik at the School Office. The School does not accept responsibility for the receipt or late delivery of appeals submitted by post.

Appeal Forms can be obtained initially from the school office.

Grounds of appeal 8 An appeal can only be made on the following grounds: That the School did not act in accordance with the relevant Regulations and/or Procedures in the provision and execution of the assessment process and that this, in turn, had a significant impact on the student; That the student had been affected by mitigating circumstances which prevented him or her from submitting an item of assessed work by the due deadline or attending an assessment, to which the student was unable, for good reason, to draw proper attention via the school’s Mitigating Circumstances Procedures. These Appeals will be assessed against the criteria set down in the Procedures for submission of Mitigating Circumstances

Common reasons why appeals are unsuccessful 9 The following list is not exclusive but details the most common reasons why appeals are rejected or deemed to be invalid. The appeal was received outside the deadline of ten working days from the publication of the result(s) concerned without good reason and evidence for the delay.

Such appeals must be made on an Appeal Form and must explain the circumstances which occurred and how these would have significantly impaired the student’s performance in the item of assessment and include independent third party evidence which corroborates the claim.

The appeal does not relate to decision of an Assessment. Although frequently cited in appeal applications, the following situations do not constitute valid grounds for appeal:

The student disagrees with the judgement of an Assessment Board in assessing the merits of an item of work or the classification of a final award, where the Board’s decision was reached in accordance with the regulations. (In such circumstances the student should request feedback from the relevant module tutor.)

The student was ignorant of the published assessment regulations and procedures, including deadlines for the submission of assessments, claims of Mitigating Circumstances and Appeals against decisions of Assessment Boards.

The student’s performance was affected by poor teaching, supervision or guidance. (In such circumstances the student should submit a complaint in accordance with the Student Complaints Procedure).

Consideration of an appeal 10 The School Office shall check each appeal against the criteria listed above. Any appeal that does not meet these criteria shall be deemed invalid and the student shall be informed of this decision at the earliest opportunity.

11 The School Office shall consider each valid application and determine whether the ground(s) listed has/have been clearly demonstrated. In such cases the appeal shall be upheld. In cases where an appeal has not clearly demonstrated that the ground(s) of appeal have been met; the appeal shall be rejected. The student shall be informed of this decision at the earliest opportunity and granted a further ten working days in which to submit relevant additional evidence to clearly demonstrate the ground(s) on which the appeal has been made.

12 The School Office shall consider any further relevant additional evidence submitted for the deadline set down in 11 above, and determine whether the grounds have been clearly demonstrated. In cases where the additional evidence clearly demonstrates that the grounds have been met, the appeal shall be upheld. In cases where the additional evidence does not clearly demonstrate that the grounds of appeal have been met, the appeal shall be rejected and the student shall be informed of this decision at the earliest opportunity. The student shall also be informed that the School’s internal procedures for appeal have been exhausted.

13 The Management, on behalf of the School, shall have power to re-open any appeal where it appears that it would be in the interests of fairness to do so. When deciding whether to exercise this discretion, the Management shall not normally exercise this power more than six months after the conclusion of the relevant proceedings.

Note 14 Fraudulent claims will lead the School to take action under its disciplinary procedures.

Health & Safety Policy

First Aid: Accidents can occur at any time and the International School Of Screen Acting will ensure that at least one member of staff on the premises is trained in First Aid. This person will be responsible for the First Aid equipment and, in the case of an emergency, take charge of the incident. All staff should be familiar with procedures.

An accident book will be kept on the premises to record any incident, however slight. Such records should be completed as soon after the accident as possible and each entry should be verified, signed and dated by a member of staff.

A First Aid box will be available and accessed from the office. The kit will be kept in a well-labelled box with a list of components set inside the lid. Items will be replenished as used.

Students & staff general information records

Student and staff records of names, address, telephone numbers and name of person to contact in case of emergency will be kept on the premises along with any medical information they may be relevant.

Safety: Care will be taken at all times to ensure the welfare and safety of all staff and students.

Fire precautions, as detailed by the Fire Prevention Officer, will be carried out and instructions for emergency evacuation of the premises clearly displayed in each room. All fire fighting equipment recommended by the Fire Prevention Officer will be provided.

The International School Of Screen Acting will keep a signing-in book for all staff, students and visitors who enter and leave the premises for whatever reason for safety purposes.

Insurances: The School is covered by a public liability insurance policy strictly and only for the school’s premises. All other areas around the school’s premises are the insured responsibility of the Landlords and their parties or intermediaries.

Health & Safety on Set

For your own safety and well being you should read this form carefully and follow any suggested actions when working in the studio or classroom at ISSA.

When entering the studio or class room please ensure you look around the working environment and look out for the following.

In General: Please note where the fire hydrants are in case you need to use one. They are usually by the door in the room you are working in. Each class room should have a green first aid bag in a visible position and marked with a sign on the wall. The fire bells are checked regularly once a week by the studios.

Working on Set: Working on set means any environment where a camera and/or lights and/or microphones, furniture, props, costumes are used for the purpose of exercises, workshops or projects. This is likely to be much of the time you are on the school premises.

1) Are there any wires (attached to the camera, microphone or lighting stands) trailing loose on the floor? If so, and there usually is, please be careful in walking around the set. Where it is deemed necessary wires will be taped down or a plastic cover will be placed over them to enable safe passage. Sometimes the securing of a cable might be deemed unnecessary for the event and it will therefore be even more important that you step carefully over the cables.

2) Be aware that the lamps become extremely hot very quickly. Please allow a cool down time of at least 10 minutes before moving them.

3) Only a tutor, director, technician or a designated student should handle lights, cameras or microphones etc. The equipment is expensive and due respect for it is required of every one without exception. If you wish to use a piece of equipment you should speak first to your tutor, director or technical director before touching anything.

4) Please take care with your costume, furniture and props when wandering around the set as some times the lamps and/or camera may be set low to the floor where things might catch.

5) For the safe use of guns, knives and other combat equipment on set your fight director will show you the safety requirements for them. Please follow these rules precisely. Failure to do so may require you to cease any further activity and leave the classroom.

We will take every precaution we are able to ensure your safety but this cannot be done without your co-operation. You must take responsibility for yourself and your actions on set. Due care will ensure a safe and happy working environment.

Rights & Standards of the School

Students: The International School of Screen Acting reserves the right to take action against a student under the following circumstances: Bad or questionable behaviour during school hours, consistently poor quality class work as and upon an assessment by the management of the school. (Course fees are not subject to the following procedure)

Tutors: The International School of Screen Acting reserves the right to take action against a tutor under the following circumstances: Failure to complete an arranged employment contract, failed student body to tutor relationship, behaviour considered to be detrimental to the school’s image and/or standing within the normally accepted codes of conduct.

In both cases the following procedures will be enacted:

An initial consultation followed by a verbal warning

A further consultation followed by a written warning

Notice of dismissal. The management of the school reserve the legal right to dismiss any student or tutor who fails to keep within the bounds of the policies set out in this document by enacting the above procedures. The management will only proceed with the above policies after an initial consultation or discussion with any or all parties concerned.

The management reserve the legal right to immediately dismiss any student or tutor who fails to attend any required consultation or discussion in relation to the above without further notice.

The student or tutor, by accepting a place or contract at the International School of Screen Acting, agrees that this Policy and Procedures document constitutes an acceptance of the terms and conditions laid out herewith. Any student or tutor, in not accepting the terms of this Policy and Procedures document, has the right to contest it within the bounds of the Complaints Procedure laid out as above. The management reserve the right to amend this Policy and Procedures document, either partial or in its entirety, as and when they see fit to do so. All students and Tutors will be informed of any changes to this Policy and Procedures document.

Student Fees and Deposits Liability Policy

In order to retain fairness to both school and student and sustain the integrity of the relationship, the school will implement policies under the following agreement between each party.

1) The student is liable for all fees agreed (Please see Student contract) for the completion of the course as set out in the pro forma invoice. The student is not liable for any additional fees or discounts not stated in the pro forma invoice or in the student contract.

2) The school will deliver and complete the tuition of subjects as laid out in the schools prospectus/web site. The school maintains sole right to change or amend the curriculum as it sees fit and is not liable for any changes made.

3) Students are liable for the full fee for each module undertaken. An undertaking is understood as a commitment by the student to the module on the first day of that module.

4) If any student does not wish to continue the course they must advise the school 1 month prior to the start of the next module. Failure to inform the school of departure from the course before the next module will render the student liable for the full fee for that module.

5) If the student informs the school 1 month prior to the start of a module of their departure from the course the student will not be liable for the following module’s fee.

6) If a student leaves the course during a module they will be liable for the full fee of that module.

7) All deposits are none refundable. Even if a student leaves the course prior to its finish.

8) Deposits paid prior to the start of the course, in accordance with the schools terms and conditions, are deducted from the module 4 (1 Year Advanced Course) and module 8 (2 Year Course). Please be aware if a student decides not to the start the course the deposit remains non refundable.

9) Modular fee payments are due one week prior to the start of each module. Though the school can not implement any action against a student for failure to remit the fee for the module at the stated time, it does reserve the right to refuse the student admission to the school until the Modular fee has been paid in full.

10) If any student experiences difficulty with the payment of their fees they should contact the school management directly and a financial arrangement may be implemented in agreement between both parties. Any financial agreement does not constitute a student right and the school management reserve the sole right to refuse any financial help or assistance as they see fit.

11) Failure to produce the required modular fee on the first day of the course and subsequent modules will preclude from continuing their course.

12) Incoming students who intend to secure a Career Development Loan (CDL) for their course must be able to produce a letter from their participating bank confirming that funds will be granted to them one week in advance of the start date of the course.

13) No liability can be attached to the school for any financial advice or assistance they may see fit to give or not give according to each individual case and within the guidance of the policy and procedures document laid out herewith

For more information please ring us on 020 8709 8719 or email us via our contact page